Solvay 51

Solvay 51, registration NY2781F, was built in 1924 at Villeneuve la Garenne.  It originally had a Kromhout engine which was replaced by a Deutz.  Unless stated otherwise all information on this page is taken from Vagus-Vagrant.fr.

It ended its career as a Panama barge in 1965. The small Solvay barges assigned to the Dombasle-Sarralbe service and the return trip carrying coal from the Saar to Dombasle were called the "Panamas". These boats didn't have a permanent crew. Their drivers were employees of the CGTVN (Compagnie Générale de Transports du Nord), the electric loco barge towing company, and later of Bargest. They would swap boats mid-journey when they met another one coming from the opposite direction, as did the locos. The control centre for this traffic had its office in Dombasle near the Pierre Escuras bridge. The first person in charge was Alfred Piant, whose sister ran the Spar grocery store at lock 22 in Dombasle. Two or three large Solvay barges ended their careers this way. Often, after years as Panama barges, they were scrapped in the dead end of the Dombasle port.

Solvay 51 and its captain Jules Depinoy, in June 1966:

Note from Guillaume Kiffer regarding the above photo: It's quite intriguing, this close-up of the bow: while the other boats in the same series, the Kromhout (numbers 45 to 56), whether built in Choisy-le-Roi or Villeneuve-la-Garenne, have bows somewhat reminiscent of Moroccan boats, this one has high gunwales! Original bow, or not? I tried to find out, but no one remembers a bow being cut off during the war, nor any accident that would have required it to be rebuilt.

Leaving the shipyard in 1924 with its original nose so it can be seen that its nose was replaced:

Note from Klaus Günther: According to the book Transportflotte Speer (authors Theodor Dorgeist and Günther Meyer), the " Solvay 51" was seized by the Germans in 1940 for Operation Sea Lion. In 1941, it became part of Transportflotte Speer as "Speer 154". In 1942, it was zurückgebaut (removed its cut-off nose). In 1942, it was renamed "Magda", then "Magda - Speer 154".

Note from Guillaume Kiffer regarding the renaming: Since it became Solvay 51 again afterwards, it gives: Solvay 51 ex Magda-Speer 154 ex Magda ex Speer 154 ex Solvay 51!